Hundreds of Goans in Mumbai, Thane, Vashi and Pune could have lost their “investment” as cops register FIRs against fake firm

PANAJI: Hundreds of Goans residing in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai (Vashi), Thane, Pune and even Goa could have lost their hard-earned money, investing and hoping for the promised returns, in a fake investment firm operating primarily from Powai in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai, as well as from Wagle Estate area of Thane. ALSO READ: Investors cheated by Sri Mahakali Group, SM Trade aka Shree Mahakali Trade aka Kreaz Life 

The fake investment firm scam was propped up and allegedly operated by one Ritesh Panchal aka Ritesh Sikligar – the main promoter, who claimed to deal in stock market trading and traded in Futures and Cryptocurrency to earn profits, allegedly using Options to hedge and insure his investments –  a totally false claim to hide his Ponzi or pyramid scheme.

Police are investigating if Panchal actually invested any of the funds collected from the investors or merely used it as a ruse to con people. ALSO READ: Sri Mahakali Group aka SM Trade promoter Ritesh Panchal alias Sikligar invested heavily in real estate

Panchal created several social media profiles on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn to convince customers of his business model, using names and words like Finserve, Market Advisor, BSE, NSE in an attempt to prove his fake or non-existent connections with legitimate Share Market advisors, operators, traders, brokers in Mumbai, as well as with the bourses.

Investigations have revealed that Panchal and his companies were not registered with the SEBI, BSE, NSE, RBI etc., as falsely claimed and projected in investor seminars and camps conducted by his agents.

ALSO READ: Margao MLA Digambar Kamat could join BJP next week

Panchal had roped in several agents and promoters (or salesmen) to convince people to invest in his several schemes and who were paid commissions ranging from 10 to 20 percent on the money they brought in.

These fast-talking agents gifted with the gift of the gab, conducted investment (or Get Rich Quick) seminars and camps at various places in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Panvel, Ambernath and even Pune and Nasik and convinced thousands of middle class persons and small businessmen to part with their hard-earned money during the days of the lock down in 2020 and 2021. ALSO READ: Actress alleges Goan politicians regularly visit Mumbai to meet call girls?

Panchal’s firms were under the name and identity of Sri Mahakali Group, SM Trade, Shree Mahakali Trade, Kreaz Life, Afflux Capital and mainly operated in the Powai-Thane-Belapur belt.

The group had freelance salesmen or commission agents active in Bhayandar, Vasai, Virar, Kalyan, Ambernath, Ulhasnagar, Pune, Nasik and even Goa, who were paid commissions ranging from 10 to 15 percent to rope in investors, eager to double or even triple their money within months and used photographs and names of known politicians to induce and impress gullible investors to part with cash on the promise of double returns within a few months. ALSO READ: Sri Mahakali Group aka SM Trade had agents in Goa, Karnataka, MP, Gujarat and UP

Panchal avoided accepting cheques or online transfers and insisted on cash payments, telling his customers that they could be subject to Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (IT) raids in future if they dealt with cheques and online payment options, as his investments in crypto-currency and F&Os were earning huge profits, which would eventually be noticed by the authorities.

He thus managed to scare his investors into only dealing in cash stating that all their income would be taxed by the IT department if they paid by cheque.

The agents told gullible clients the company was investing in crypto-currency, Bitcoin, Futures & Options (F&O), shares and other financial instruments and products and was making 100 to 1000 times profit and investors could partake of this profit if they invested in the schemes offered by Panchal’s company.

Most middle-class individuals do not have much knowledge of such financial products, services and technology and went by the testimonies of the agents, who painted a very rosy picture, claiming they were earning huge margins every month.

In reality, the agents were only earning commissions on the new customers or investors and funds they brought in and the investment per say was not reaping any profits or multiplying as alleged. ALSO READ: Cops register FIR against Sri Mahakali Group for illegal crypto-currency schemes

The police have registered FIRs at the Naupada and Shree Nagar Police Stations in Thane and the Financial Crimes Investigation Branch of the Thane Police is investigating the complaints.

According to the FIR statement of one of the complainants, accessed by this reporter, “he was taken to the Wagle Estate office of the Mahakali Group of Companies at Thane for a presentation or investor camp.”

“On reaching the office he saw several people who had come to invest in schemes of the company. Mohan Patil was present in the office and made a presentation to the gathered crowd claiming he had a total of 16 subsidiary companies and among them The Magic 3X Crypto Company was the most profitable as it was trading in cryptocurrency and earning returns and profits from the business.”

Patil conducted seminars and camps at the Wagle Estate office and gullible investors who evinced interest in investing were then directed to the Powai office where Panchal accepted money in cash and gave receipts.

The complainant stated in his statement to the cops that Panchal boasted that his company had more that 50,000 satisfied customers across several states who were regularly receiving returns on their investment. ALSO READ: UN trade body calls for halting cryptocurrency rise in developing countries

Reports indicated that Panchal and 2-3 of his associates, including one Mohan Patil have been arrested, but the cops are silent on the matter and did not come forward with details when this reporter contacted them. ALSO READ: China declares all cryptocurrency transactions illegal

Panchal had also launched an illegal chit-fund scheme under the name of Shree Mahakali Co-Op Credit Society Ltd (Patpethi) and apparently does not have any license or permissions for the Credit Society.

Patil and Panchal created a chain of investors or agents similar to a Ponzi scheme promising to triple or quadruple their investments in a matter of months.

According to reputed financial website MoneyLife, Panchal is involved in Paiselogy, a multi-level marketing (MLM) Ponzi scheme as well as Smart Trade and Ovule, which deal in cash Futures & Options (F&O) and everything is done only in cash, similar to Dabba Trading. (Read More Here)

If you have any information regarding the above-mentioned companies or cases, please contact us at: editor.indyatv.in AT gmail.com